Updates

The Impact of the Romney-Ryan Budget on the South Sound

Sep. 4, 2012

Denny Heck supports a balanced budget that helps create Washington jobs, keeps the American Dream alive, and strengthens the American middle class and those working to get into it. Unfortunately, the proposed Romney-Ryan budget does the opposite. The Romney-Ryan budget makes drastic cuts that would make life harder for South Sound families:

Tens of thousands of seniors in the South Sound rely on Medicare for their healthcare needs. The 2011 Ryan Budget proposes ending Medicare as we know it and replacing it with a voucher system. This would increase annual healthcare costs for Washington seniors by an average of $6,400.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation and the Congressional Budget Office

Tens of thousands of veterans and military family members live in the 10thCongressional District around Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The Romney-Ryan Budget would reduce planned support for them by $200 billion over the next decade. That could mean lower quality healthcare from the VA and fewer educational and job opportunities for veterans.

Nearly 300,000 children nationwide could lose their school lunch subsidies under the Romney-Ryan Budget. 62% of Clover Park School District students and 60% of Tacoma School District students are approved for free or reduced lunches. The proposed cuts could leave a good portion of those students hungry during the school day.

Source: New York Times, 5/7/2012 and the OSPI’s Washington State Report Card

More than 100,000 Washington students attend UW, WSU, Pacific Lutheran, Evergreen and other colleges and universities with the help of Pell Grants. The Romney-Ryan Budget cuts more than $150 billion dollars from Pell Grant funding over the next decade. That would mean fewer South Sound students attending college and more student debt for those that do.

Source: The Education Trust

The Romney-Ryan Budget makes deep cuts to spending on transportation and infrastructure projects. That means an even longer wait on getting the needed I-5 congestion improvements built. The cuts from the Romney-Ryan Budget could result in more than 4000 Washington job losses in a single year

Source: Washington State Department of Transportation

Cuts to K-12 funding under Title 1 could lead to hundreds of Washington teachers or other school staff being laid off by the end of 2014. Tens of thousands of Washington students could face reduced or eliminated education opportunities.

Source: NEA Analysis of Title 1 Cuts

The Romney-Ryan Budget not only extends the Bush tax cuts but also gives millionaires another massive tax break. At the same time, it cuts or eliminates many tax deductions that middle class families utilize like those for charitable giving, mortgage interests and health premiums.